Preview: Cougars at Rockets 11/9/22
| Prince George Cougars at Kelowna Rockets |
| Date | Time | Wed., Nov. 9, 2022 | 7:05 pm |
| Tickets | Select Your Tickets |
| Video Stream | CHL TV |
| Radio | 104.7 The Lizard |
| Live Stats | WHL Box Score |
| Live Updates | @Kelowna_Rockets Twitter |
| Next Game | Sat., Nov. 12 @ KAM – 7:00 pm |
The Kelowna Rockets will be looking to string together a pair of wins when they host the BC Division leading Prince George Cougars on Wednesday night at Prospera Place – puck drop is set for 7:05 pm.
Kelowna is coming off a 3-1 victory over the 2023 Memorial Cup host Kamloops Blazers on Saturday night at Prospera Place. Dylan Wightman got the Rockets on the board first, jamming his third of the season into the net while on the power play. Kamloops tied it on the power play before the end of the opening period. Andrew Cristall added goals in the second and third periods. Goaltender Talyn Boyko made 44 saves on 45 shots.
The Cougars enter Wednesday’s game riding a three-game win streak. They picked up a 5-4 shootout win over Portland last Wednesday, then defeated Spokane 7-2 on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday.
Tickets
Single-game tickets for Wednesday’s game and all other Rockets games are available at Select Your Tickets. Tickets can be purchased online through www.selectyourtickets.com, at the Prospera Place box office, or by phone at 250-762-5050.
Mini Packs are now on sale for the 2022-23 season, pick from between a six or twelve-game pack. Click here to learn more about Mini Packs.
The last time these two met
Kelowna and Prince George have already faced off twice this season, splitting their opening two matchups back on September 30th and October 1st at the CN Centre.
The Cougars swiped first in the season series matchup, downing the Rockets 6-3 on September 30th. Andrew Cristall opened the scoring, but the momentum shifted towards the Cougars towards the end of the first period after they scored a pair of power play goals seventeen seconds apart. Prince George continued to dominate throughout the second period, netting four unanswered goals. The Rockets made a goaltending change to start the third and pushed back in the final frame with a pair of goals to cut the Cougs lead in half. Jari Kykkanen made 16 saves on 22 shots before being replaced by Nicholas Cristiano, who stopped the only two shots he faced in the third period.
Meanwhile, the next night it was all Rockets with Kelowna scoring four unanswered goals through two periods of action. The Cougars broke Rockets starter Jary Kykkanen’s shutout bid just before the midway point of the third period while on the power play. Gabriel Szturc responded for Kelowna, restoring the four-goal lead. Andrew Cristall led the way for the Rockets, setting up four goals en route to earning first star honours. Kykkanen was named the game’s third star, making 32 saves on 33 shots to pick up his first win of the campaign.
Roster Updates
Elias Carmichael is expected to make his return to the Rockets lineup tomorrow after missing the last four games with a lower-body injury.
Max Graham remains listed on the injury report as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Click here to view the Rockets Injury Report.
Players to watch
Kelowna
- New York Rangers prospect Talyn Boyko was named the WHL’s Goaltender of the Week after stopping 44 of the 45 shots he faced on Saturday against the Kamloops Blazers. Boyko is 2-2-0-0 with a 2.97 goals-against average, .922 save percentage in four games for Kelowna this season.
- Andrew Cristall posted a pair of goals in the Rockets win on Saturday, it was the 11th multi-goal game of his career. He leads the Rockets in scoring with 22 points (11G, 11A) in 13 games played this season.
- Often playing with five defencemen over the last couple of weeks, the Rockets will welcome veteran Elias Carmichael back to the blue line. The 19-year-old was leading the Rockets defencemen in scoring with seven (1G, 6A) over nine games before suffering a lower-body injury in practice.
Portland
- Koehn Ziemmer, the fourth overall pick in the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft, leads the Cougars with 26 points (13G, 13A) through 16 games. A late 2004 birthdate, the Cougars second leading scorer from last season, will be eligible for the NHL Draft for the first time this summer.
- Hudson Thornton leads the Cougs defencemen in scoring with 19 points (4G, 15A) over 16 games this season. He set a season-high for points in a game with two goals and an assist against the Rockets on September 30th.
- NHL Prospects Tyler Brennan (New Jersey) and Ty Young (Vancouver) have split the workload in net this season. Brennan is 3-3-0-0 with a 2.80 goals-against average, .912 save percentage in seven games (six starts) this season. Young is 5-3-0-0 with a 3.65 goals-against average, .911 save percentage in eight games this season.
Series at a glance
2022-23 Season Series vs PG (1-1-0-0)
| Sept. 30 | @ Prince George | 6-3 L |
| Oct. 1 | @ Prince George | 5-1 W |
| Nov. 9 | vs Prince George | 7:05 pm |
| Jan. 10 | vs Prince George | 7:05 pm |
| Feb. 7 | @ Prince George | 7:00 pm |
| Feb. 8 | @ Prince George | 7:00 pm |
| Feb 10 | vs Prince George | 7:05 pm |
| Mar. 8 | vs Prince George | 7:05 pm |
| Mar. 15 | @ Prince George | 7:00 pm |
BC Division Standings as of Tuesday
| # | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS |
| 1 | Prince George Cougars | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| T2 | Kamloops Blazers | 13 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| T2 | Vancouver Giants | 17 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| 3 | Kelowna Rockets | 13 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| 4 | Victoria Royals | 18 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
Watch and listen
Radio broadcast
Rockets games will be broadcast on 104.7 FM the Lizard this season with Regan Bartel calling all of the action.
Don’t forget to download the RocketFAN app and visit rocketfan.ca for more exclusive Rockets content from Pattison. Fans can stream the radio broadcast of all Rockets games on the app.
Click here to download RocketFAN on Google Play
Click here to download RocketFAN on the App Store
Online video stream
All Rockets games will be available on WHL Live. WHL Live on is available to fans anywhere in the world, providing high-quality streaming of WHL games on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV platforms, via mobile with iOS and Android, and on web using Safari or Google Chrome web browsers. Visit watch.chl.ca for complete details and subscription options.
Online 50/50
The Kelowna Rockets online 50/50 is back for the 2022-23 season!
The online 50/50 will give fans in Rockets fans located in British Columbia and those who are attending the game the chance to win during every Rockets home game this season. The 50/50 will also raise important dollars for the Kelowna Minor Hockey Association.
Tickets will be available for purchase on all game days starting at 9 a.m. PT and end at the start of the third period on the same day.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the online 50/50 and purchase tickets.
Lineup Sheet + Game Day Program
Printed lineup sheets will not be available at games this season, they can be accessed online by visiting the game day program.
The Game Day Program will be available in the same spot, it comes complete with game notes, stats, team rosters and entry forms for the Rockets intermission contests.
The sheet and program will be uploaded by 3:00 p.m. on game days.
